KEY INSIGHTS All clinicians ( even radiologists ) need access to patient data .
• Radiologists too often today work in the dark , without access to relevant clinical data .
• Common sense ( and recent litigation ) points to the need to provide access to clinical data to all specialties , including radiology .
• Clinical collaboration among referring physicians , radiologists , and other clinical specialties requires full access to patient records , including images , lab results , and relevant reports from all the ancillary departments .
• When the EHR drives radiology workflow , data flows to the radiologist , leading to more informed reading and substantial increases in efficiency , according to Dr . Cree Gaskin , UVA .
• The key to an efficient radiology workflow is to build an intelligent matrix to present first the most relevant patient information to the radiologist .
• As an anticipated benefit in the United States , the radiology workflow has contributed to UVA radiologists successfully attesting to Meaningful Use Stage 1 , generating nearly $ 1.5 million in incentives to date for the UVA Physician ’ s Group , and will hopefully help them succeed in Stage 2 .
• The added benefit of increased collaboration among ( former ) silos is a necessary corollary of developing an EHR-driven workflow , according to Dan O ’ Malley .